WBSGVS Chapter 183 V1

In the end, Shen Yanjun hung up the phone, tail between his legs.

He couldn’t answer Qingli’s questions.

Not because he didn’t have an answer, but because the shame of being seen through left him unable to face Huo Qingli again.

Looking back, it had all started when he saw the name “Xu Yin” on the school’s grade sheet. Her age matched the girl from his memories, and he immediately confirmed she was the same one from his childhood. He had someone call her over right away.

At first, he was just excited to reunite with an old playmate. But when she showed up, and the people around them started teasing, and she happened to be beautiful, something inside him stirred. On impulse, he asked her to be his girlfriend.

Everything progressed smoothly.

If “Xu Yin” hadn’t been a lie…
If his mother hadn’t interfered…
Maybe things could’ve worked out between them. Maybe they could’ve been happy.

But his mother chased Xu Yin away. In a fit of rebellion, Shen Yanjun clashed with his parents at every turn. And Huo Qingli, with her gentle support and affection, gave him a moment of comfort, so he stayed.

Now, looking back on everything, it was clear: this mess was all his doing, the result of his selfishness.

He never thought about anyone else.

He never really considered Xu Yin’s feelings, assuming she was the girl from his past and rushing into things. Later, when it came to Huo Qingli, he never considered her either. Everything he did was for his satisfaction.

Qingli’s questions in that phone call were too sharp, too direct. They forced him to confront things he had been deliberately avoiding. He didn’t want to face any of it.

So he hung up the phone and pretended none of it had happened.

Surely Qingli wouldn’t destroy the Shen family. Xu Yin had lied before—he knew Qingli had a soft heart. As long as the company could survive this crisis, things would be fine.

But not everyone was as generous or as easy to deal with as Huo Qingli.

With the company’s cash flow cut off, they needed to raise a significant amount of capital, far more than what had been needed for the Chi family’s situation. Very few had the means, and even fewer had the will to help.

No businessperson wanted to hand over money that easily.

Even Shen’s Mother’s side of the family wasn’t willing.

To secure that funding, they’d have to make serious concessions—including giving up company shares.

But the gap was massive. If they gave up that much equity, it would mean the Shen family would no longer control Shen Corporation. With a single stroke, the company could be renamed Zhang Corp or Li Corp.

Father Shen refused.
To him, that was no different than going bankrupt.

After much deliberation, he decided to cut off the dead weight and sacrifice a few low-profit subsidiaries to buy time, just enough to survive the current crisis. Everything else could be dealt with later.

But Chi Corporation had been waiting to pounce. Now that they saw Shen Corporation weakened, there was no way they would just sit by and let it recover.

They went in for the kill.

And they weren’t the only ones. Many others joined in—people who had once toasted and called each other “brothers” at banquets. When profits are involved, friends quickly turn into enemies.

By the time Father Shen realized what was happening, the company was already on the brink of collapse.

The blow was too much for him. He was hospitalized and could no longer manage the business.

Shen Yanjun had no choice but to step in while still recovering from illness, but it was too late. The situation was beyond saving.

All they could do was pick a day to officially declare bankruptcy and file for protection—whatever assets they could preserve, they would.

Xu Yin held her newborn in her arms, staring blankly as the Shen family moved out. Shen Yanjun carried her luggage, and she dazedly followed him into a modest car worth no more than 200,000 yuan, originally bought for their nanny. The car pulled into an average high-end residential community, and the family went inside.

Her mind was still a blank.

How had everything changed so quickly?
She’d just finished her postpartum recovery, and the world had turned upside down.

“What are you waiting for?” Shen Yanjun frowned when he saw her lagging far behind and called out to her.

Xu Yin hesitated. Truth be told, her postpartum experience hadn’t been bad at all—the care center had been top-tier. She knew the Shen family was in trouble, but she assumed, even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. No matter what, the Shen family was once a powerful empire. Surely they’d have a billion or two left.

She had never imagined that one day, she’d be moving with them out of the villa district… into just a regular upscale apartment complex.

Shen Yanjun’s hands were full of bags, which was why he couldn’t carry the baby. When he turned back and saw Xu Yin still frozen under the blazing sun, he had no choice but to set the bags down, walk over, and take the child from her arms.

“You might not feel hot, but the baby does. What are you standing around for?”

Xu Yin pressed her lips together, staying silent. The sudden emptiness in her arms snapped her back to reality, and she finally moved forward with heavy steps.

They were already married. But Shen Yanjun had canceled the wedding. He’d said plainly that while he would give her what she wanted—marriage, stability—there would be no ceremony. Still, for the child’s sake, they would live as a “normal” married couple.

Normal?

Xu Yin almost laughed. When she first heard those words, she stayed calm because she knew Shen Yanjun would never truly forgive her. No matter how “normal” their life looked, in his heart, he only felt disgust toward her. There was no affection left.

But that was okay. She had already braced herself for that.

What she hadn’t expected… was that Shen Corporation would fall.

Their new place wasn’t small—about 1,600 square feet, four bedrooms, two living rooms, and private bathrooms. But compared to their former mansion in the villa district, with a live-in housekeeper and meals made to order, it was a huge step down.

And now, as the daughter-in-law, Xu Yin had to face Shen’s Mother, a woman who had never liked her and wasn’t shy about it. She never spoiled Xu Yin and had no intention of starting now. Though they did hire a part-time housekeeper for meals, the woman came and went. She didn’t cater to Xu Yin’s tastes.